90s R&B

So another week came and it was a busy one here at R&B Haven. I'd been hoping to add several album reviews but stumbled upon a wealth of artists that we'd overlooked in the site's information. As such, a great deal of the week went to expanding the R&B artist collection.

This week, we've added artist profiles for Ex-Girlfriend, 4.0, Eboni Foster, Full Force, Impromp2, Keisha Jackson, Love and Sas, Trisha Covington, Danny Boy, Tha Truth, Trin-I-Tee 5:7 and Pure Soul. Some bios are real detailed while others are only basic as it is tough to find information on some artists. Nevertheless, many of them have music videos so I recommend heading over to the R&B Music Video page and looking up some of these lesser known acts.

And of course, how could I forget Mother's Day today. Happy Mothers Day to all the mother's out there, and for everyone, be sure to take a moment out to appreciate all your mama's done for you. To bring the theme of mothers to the site, we've made Boyz II Men's "A Song For Mama" the R&B song of the week.

As always, keep checking back for the latest in R&B. Happy mother's day!

Hey R&B Fans

After seemingly having bad news every week, we've got the potential for some bright light this week. A lot of acts seem to be gearing up for new releases, with Blaque and SWV getting back together and starting work on new albums. In addition, En Vogue was seen working in Canada with Dawn Robinson back in the group. So keep your fingers crossed, there might be more news from En Vogue in the future. To make it even better, Brandy's working with Epic Records to put out another album. So I hope your wallets are ready, because it looks like we might be getting some chances to buy new albums soon. Blaque's also got a reality TV show coming called "Blaque in the House." Not really my thing, but I've included the promo at the end of the post.

In other news, I reviewed Gerald LeVert's The G Spot and Gerald's World over the past few days. Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with either effort. I'm not sure if I'm just burned out on Gerald LeVert or he just really fell off as his career went on. Regardless, I'm gonna switch and start reviewing other artists for a while before getting back to his stuff.

As a last word, we've got a new R&B song of the week. This week, Babyface and Stevie Wonder team up to deliver "How Come, How Long." Both cats are R&B legends and the track is great. It's a sad number about spousal abuse and the video's real artsy too. So check it out!

That's it for this week. As always, keep coming back for your latest in R&B.

Hey all you R&B fans out there. Another week has come and another update has found its way onto R&B Haven.

Starting things off on a downer, this week saw the death of Orish Grinstead. I talked a lot about it in my last post so I won't spend more time on it, but it's a real shame the way so many people affiliated with R&B have been dying lately.

In more uplifting news, we've added the biography for The Force MDs to the site. The group was biggest during the 1980s with their hit "Tender Love" and they seem like really cool guys. I highly recommend the interview clip with them in the music video section as they seem very genuine.

This past week also saw the review of another Gerald Levert album. I reviewed his fourth album, G, which I found pretty disappointing. Love & Consequences and Groove On seemed to be filled with solid tracks, but G seems limited to only a few standouts. Most of the album is simply average, however, it can still be a fun listen.

Finally, another week means there was a new R&B song of the week. To keep diversifying our list, this week is 4PM with their remake of the Japanese hit, "Sukiyaki." Some people might not be fans of the group's occasional boy bandish style, but overall, I think they're a solid group. As always, check out the song!

That's it for the week. Hope you guys have another great week and keep checking back at R&B Haven for the latest in R&B.

I'm sad to report that Orish Grinstead, founding member of the group 702, passed away on Sunday, April 20th. Orish died of kidney failure and had also been suffering from cancer which she had yet to begin receiving treatments for. My condolences go out to the Grinstead family as they make it through these rough times.

Orish had founded the group 702 with her twin sister Irish and her other sister LeMisha. The girls sang outside of boxing matches in their hometown of Las Vegas where they were spotted by Sinbad who helped them get their career started. While Orish left the group early on to start a solo career, the group continued on to release hits like "Steelo," "Where My Girls At?" and "Get It Together."

R&B cats, it's been another busy week at R&B Haven, but I think it's one you'll enjoy the results.

First on the list, and something you might have noticed earlier in the week, we've added an interview with Marc Dorsey. Seen on the features page (or by clicking the top banner), he's a great, deep thinker. Marc worked a lot with Spike Lee during the 90s and had a lot of insight into working as a musician and the effects that the experience can have. It's well worth a read and I recommend everyone check it out!

In the spirit of Marc Dorsey's work, the title track from his debut album, Crave, is this week's song of the week. It's always been one of my favorite tracks of the 90s and is handled well. If you've never heard the song, or even if you listen to it every day, go to the song of the week page and enjoy a listen.

We've also continued to expand our album reviews section, this time reviewing Gerald LeVert's third album, Love & Consequences. I have to say, I was a little disappointed with it at first as its opening tracks are a little off the mark. However, around track 8, the album goes into full gear and is hit after hit. Overall, it's a great album that only further adds to the tragedy of Gerald's loss.

Unfortunately, tragedy will be a concluding theme with this news post as it recently came to my attention that Luther Vandross's mother died this past week. At the forever young age of 82, Mary Ida Vandross died of natural causes, and she tragically had to live through the death's of her husband, her four children and her only grandson. It must have been tough to live through so much death and I hope everyone will take a moment out to pray for her.

That's it for the week. A lot has been going on and so, I recommend everyone to keep checking back as there's always new stuff being added. Have a good week!